Pneumatic grain elevator and separator.



C. P. NALL.

PNEUMATIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AND SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, l9l5.

123mm, Patented my 3, 19m

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. P. NALL.

PNEUMATIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AND SEPARATOR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1915.

1,981,?78" Patented. July 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- %%ZM:W

C. P. NALL.

PNEUMATIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AND SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1915.

Patented July 3, 191?.

HEETSSHEET 3 zzziwwsw 351% a W Q/ fl human snares rarmvr onnroa CHARLESP. NALL, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO NALL SEPARATOR ANDELEVATOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

PNEUMATIC GRAIN ELEVATOR ANIl) SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1911 "3.

Application filed May 19, 1915. Serial No. 29,040.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. NALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPneumatic Grain Elevators and Separators; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention provides a very simple and highly eflicient pneumaticdevice for conveying and elevating grain and various other materials,and for separating therefrom, relatively light materials, such as dust,dirt and chaff, and is capable of a very wide range of use. For example,it may be used to elevate or otherwise convey wheat, oats, barley,seeds, shelled corn, and the like, and even such heavier materials, assand. The use of the invention will be made clear by description of itsuse for taking grain out of a wagon and loading the same into a car.

The complete device is preferably made in the nature of a self-containedportable plant mounted on a suitable truck so that it may be readilymoved from place to place.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views. Referringto the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the complete machine; I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

.Fig. 3 is a detail in vertical section on the line 22 m on Fig. 5, someparts being shown in full;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line w m on Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the machine some parts being removed; and

Fig. 6 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in verticalsection showing the separating hopper and certain. associated parts ofthe machine.

As a suitable motive power for driving the running parts of the machine,I preferably employ an explosive engine indicated as an entirety by thenumeral 1. This engine and all of the other parts of the maa belt 3,pulley-equipped counter shaft 4 and twin belts 5 and 6, drives a pair offans or blowers 7 and 8. Thecasing of the fan 8 is provided with asuction tube 9 and with an air discharge tube or hose 10. The suctiontube 9 leads from one of two compartments of a vertically divided hopper11 that is suitably supported from the platform of the truck and isprovided with a depending leg 12 that connects to a cylindricaldischarge chamber 18. Within the leg 12 is a gravity closed cut-oil"valve 14 that is automatically opened by the pressure from within thecasing. The hopper 11 and upper portion of the leg 12 are divided intochambers or compartments 11 and 11", by a vertical partition The hopper11 serves as a separating chamber, and mounted therein and extend ingthrough the partition 15 is a nearly horizontal tube 16. lVithin thechamber 11 the tube 16 is connected to an upright tube 17, the lower endof which extends below the said tube 16 and opens quite close to theinclined bottom of the hopper. The upper end of the said tube 17 extendsthrough the top of the hopper and is connected to a flexible intake tube18. That portion of the tube 16 that extends into the chamber 11, isopen at its inner end, and near its inner end is connected to the lowerend of an upwardly extended suction pipe 19 which, in turn, is connectedto the suction tube 9, and within the said compartment 11 is providedwith circumferentially spaced air ports 20 arranged to be opened andclosed to a greater or less extent by an oscillatory, circumferentiallyperforated valve 21. This valve 21 has a projecting arm 22 that isconnected to an operating rod 23 extended outward through the front sideof the hopper. The hopper is preferably provided with removable plates24:, which, when removed, afford access with the hand and arm to theinterior of the compartments 11 and 11 The casing of the fan 7 takes inair through one eye in the usual way and is provided with a tangentialdischarge neck 25 that is connected to one end of a blower pipe 26. Theintermediate portion of this blower pipe 26 is connected to, or in otherwords, opens through the lower cylindrical portion of the dischargecasing 13, so that it intersects the same at a right angle. The outerend of the blower pipe 26 is connected to a flexible deliver-y tube orhose 27 that is adapted to be freely moved about. Working within thedischarge casing 13 is a sort of a paddle wheel :28, the shaft of whichis journaled in suitable bearings on the :Sitld. casing, and at itsouter end, is connected by miter gears 29 to a counter shaft 30journaled in a suitable bearing on the said casing andprovided at itsouter end with a pulley 31, over which latter and a pulley on the maincounter shaft at, runs a. belt "32 for transmitting motion to the saidpaddle wheel.

Operation.

The operation will be made clear from the following description of theuse-of the machine for taking grain, for example, from a wagonanddelivering the same into a car.

The free .end of the intake tube 18 is placed in a wagon in contact withthe grain which is to be taken up, and the free end of the delivery tube26 is placed within the car to be loaded. The engine being then in ac-.tion, the blowers or fans are driven at high speed. The blower 8produces a suction or partial vacuum in both of the chambers 11 and 11of the separating hopper 1'1, and under this action, the grain from thewagon will be picked up and drawn through the intake tube 18. Thegreater part, to-wit, about four-fifths of the grain will be droppeddirectly to the bottom of the chamber 11 but the lighter particles, suchas withered grain, oats, dust, chaff and small seeds, will be carriedonward into the said tube 16. By adjustment, the lightest of theparticles drawn into the tube 16 will be carried with the air upwardthrough the suction pipe 19 and suction tube 9, through the blower 8 andwith the air out through the discharge tube 10, while more or less ofthe relatively heavier particles will be thrown outward through the endof the said tube 16 and precipitated into the hopper chamber 11 When thevalve 21 is adjusted to close the ports 20, all of the air drawn inthrough the horizontal tube 1 6 will be caused to make a turn directlyupward into the suction pipe 19, and this has the greater tendency tocarry the particles into the suction tube 9 and thence, out through thefan or blower 8. When, however, the valve 21 is set to open the said airports 20, a part of the air will pass directly outward through the openend of the tube 16, into the chamber 11, and from thence, back into thesuction pipe 19 through the said ports 20; and this gives a greatertendency to deposit light particles within the said hopper chamber 11".Thus, it will be seen that by adj-ustment of the valve 21, the devicemay be regulated so that it will carry from the hopper more or less ofthe relatively light particles. When it is desired to use the-(1athrough the fan '8.

through a *leg VlCQzGSPGClELllY as-a separator, the valves 21 should beadjusted so that such particles as oats will be carried from the wheatout Obviously, when such separation 1S made, the oats may be caught in asuitable receptacle.

The wheator grain cleared of light foreign material, as above stated, isdelivered 12 into discharge chamber or casing 18 where it is taken up bythe paddle wheel 28 and positively delivered to the blower pipe 26. Hereit is important to note that .the blast of air from the fan or blower L7is directly through the alined peripheral compartments of the paddlewheel and that the grain is delivered to the said blower pipe, one smallload at a time, and in an even order of succession. This paddle feedwheel is constantly drivenso that a constant and even supply of grain isdelivered to the said blower pipe. The said paddle wheel when loadedwith grain also prevents escape of the air from the blower pipe upthrough the leg of the hopper.

TVhatI claim is:

1. The combination with a closed hopper, of an intake tube extendeddownward within said hopper with its open lower endabove the bottomthereof and an approximately horizontal tube within said hopper extendedfrom the intermediate inner portion of said intake tube, a verticalpartition dividing said .hopper into two chambers and through whichpartition the said horizontal tube is extended, a suction tube extendedupward the bottom thereof and an approximately horizontal tube withinsaid hopper extended from the intermediate inner portion of said intaketube, a vertical partition dividing said hopper into two chambers andthrough which partition the said horizontal tube is extended, a suctiontube extended upward from said horizontal tube, and having air portswithin said hopper, and a blower having its intake connected to saidsuction tube.

3. The combination with a closed hopper, of an intake tube extendeddownward with in said hopper with its open lower end above the bottomthereof and an approximately horizontal tube within said hopper extendedfrom the intermediate inner portion of said intake tube, a verticalpartition dividing said hopper into two chambers and through whichpartition the said horizontal tube is extended, a suction tube extendedupward from said horizontal tube, and having circumferentially spacedair ports within said hopper, a valve for opening and closing saidports, and a blower having its intake connected to said suction tube. 7

4. The combination with a closed hopper, of an intake tube extendeddownward within said hopper with its open lower end above the bottomthereof and an approximately horizontal tube within said hopper extendedfrom the intermediate inner portion of said intake tube, a verticalpartition dividing said hopper into two chambers and through whichpartition the said horizontal tube is extended, and a blower having itsintake 10 CHARLES P. NALL.

Witnesses:

F. D. MERCHANT, HARRY D. KrLeoRE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner oi Patents, Washington, D. G.

